sahler and j



E. SAHLER AND J. W. HOLT.

WIRE FENCE STRETCHER AND TIGHTENER.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 31. 1919.

1 ,32Q,06. Patented Nov. 18, 1919.

EMIL SAHLER AND JOHN W. HOLT, 0F MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA.

WIRE-FENGE ST RETGHER AND TIGI-ITENER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 18, 1919.

' Application filed March 31, 1919. Serial No. 286,294.

1 b all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, EMIL SAHLER and JOHN W. HoL'r, citizens of theUnited States, residing at Minneapolis, in the county of Hennepin andState of Minnesota, have invented a new and useful Wire Fence Stretcherand Tightener, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to devices for stretching and tightening wirefences, and the object is to provide a cheap, simple but improvedefiective device for stretching all kinds of wire fences including wovenfences and barbed wire fences, and for taking up slack in wires ofexisting wire fences.

in the accompanying drawing,-Figure 1 is a top View of a portion ofa-wire fence with our device shown as applied to one of the corner postsfor stretching either a new or an old fence, or some wire thereof. Theview also shows the device as applied to one of the intermediate postsor line posts of the fence for taking up slack in a wire. Fig. 2 is anenlargement of the right hand portion of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a sideelevation of Fig. 2 with the device shown in two positions. Fig. 1 is anenlargement of the mid dle portion of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a. detail viewof a wire winding tool constituting a portion of the invention. Fig. 6is a detail view of a wire clasping device forming another part of thedevice. Fig. 7 is a detail view of a portion of the main lever and awire clamp on same. Fig. 8 is a detail side View of one of the hook rodsshown in Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 41. Fig. 9 is a side view and Fig. 10 is aface view of the other similar hook rod in said views.

Referring to the drawing by reference numerals 12 and 13 designate twocorner posts of a fence, the line posts there between may be many or fewbut for want of space only one of them, 14, is shown in the drawing. 50represents a fence Wire to be stretched preparatory to securing it tothe posts by staples 16 in the usual manner.

The stretching device comprlses a main lever 17, having a claw-shapedend 18 adapted to engage in the side of the fence post when the tool isin operation; the lower edge of the lever forms a ratchet rack 19, andnear the end 18 is pivoted a dog 20 having a toothed cam 21 (shown inFig. 7,) between which and the lever a wire may be pinched duringcertain stretching operations on the wire by the device, as willpresently be further described.

Slidable upon the lever 17 is a small yoke 22 having a neck 23 with twohooks or horns 24c and 25 on it, and mounted upon said neck is atriangular fiat member 26 having three apertures, one of which is placedon said neck and into the other two are inserted cold-shut eyes 27 oftwo hook rods 28 and 29, each of which is formed with a side hook 30having a ll-shaped grip 31. Each rod having also an end-hook 32, nearwhich is a catch either like 33 in Figs. 9 and 10 or like 33 in. Fig. 8.

A further part of the device is best shown in Fig. 6, to consist of asmall frame 3% having an eye 35, and a lug 36, against which a wire, as37, may be forced and held by a cam 38, which is fulcrumed at 39, andhaving a toothed face 410 and a lever 41.

The device further comprises a piece of jack chain 42 with a hook bar413at one end of it, said bar having at one side serrations 4 1.

In Figs. 4c and 5 is shown an auxiliary tool consisting of a flat bar ofiron or steel having one hole 16 at the middle, in one end a notch47,and adjacent thereto a comparatively large aperture 48 and a smalleraperture 49.

In the operation of the apparatus, when a wire, say the wire 50, is tobe stretched, the lever 17 is placed with its forked end against thecorner post 12 and inclined upwardly with its other end; the end of thewire is secured about the horn 25, as shown at 51, in Fig. 3; the book43 is placed over the wire as at 13 in Fig. 2; the chain 42 is engagedin the hook 30 with such of the chain links as will hold the lever 17 inabout the lateral position, shown in Fig. 2; the lever 17 is then swungdownward to a level position, or far enough to stretch the wiresufficiently; the dog 20 will then engage the post and hold the lever insaid position while the operator secures the wire by staples 16 in thecorner post and other posts as may be desired. During this operation thehook bar 13 cannot slide on the post because of its serrations 14.- andits engagement with the wire 50, and hence a turning movement about thepost is prevented, and any tendency to a turning movement of the post inthe ground is overcome by the position of the lever 17, which may beinclined laterally against the pulling strain of the wire 50,according-to the looseness of the soil holding the post, by shorteningof the active part of the chain 42. If during this process any of theseveral Wire strands of the fence be found a little too short to reachthe horn 25, such wlre may be secured about the hooks 3032 of the rod.29, in the manner shown in dotted lines 5U in 9, the catch 33 assistingin holding the wire engaged, and as the lever 17 is then forceddownward, said short wire, say 50 in Fig. 3, is pulled far enough to bereached and secured by the staple 16.

If the wire is too short to be reached by the hook 30 directly, theclamp 34 is placed with its eye 35 on the hook 32 and engaged with thewire as shown in the lower part. of Fig. 3. And if the wire is too-shortfor the latter method, then apiece is spliced onto it, which splicingcan be done with the parts herein shown and described; but as the'wirefence stretching device as such does not splice the wire, nor does thesplicinghel-p to stretch the wire, and we can also modify the deviceconsiderably for wiresplicing alone, and further because only one of theundersigned oint inventors has invented the wire splicing feature, saidsplicer will be found described in another application for patent filedby E. Sahler, simultaneously with this present application.

If the wire to. be stretched is at the other or inner side of the posts,like the wire 50" in Fig. 1, it is evident that the chain and its hookbar 43 will be placed at the outer side of the post and engaged by thehook rod 29, otherwise the operation is the same as already described,and the device is moved on thepost from one wire to the other to stretchone wire at a time, except where the fence is a woven wire fence, inwhich case the clamp 84 is placed on such of the wires as will have thebest effect to stretch the whole run of the fence.

For taking up slack in the wires of old fences, the device is placed asin Fig. 4 and at the middle of Fig. 1, against one of the line posts 14,and the hooks 32 engaged over the. slack wire 50", one at each side ofthe post, the lever v17 is then swung downward until the wire is fullytightened, the dog 20 is then engaged with the post so it will hold thedevice in place While the operator places a piece of wire 52 in theposition shown and by the tool 45 Winds the ends of said wire about themain wire 50, as shown at 52 in Fig. 4. During such winding, the end ofthe 'Wire operated by the tool is placed in the hole 49 and bent overinto the notch 47,

as shown at 53, so as to resist the winding and thereby cause thewinding to be so much tighter about the main wire.

The hole 46 in the tool 45 is used when slack is to be taken up in awoven fence, where the space in which to turn the tool is limited. Thelarge hole 48 is to be used where the wire 52 is a double wire appliedto barb wire fences having double main wires twisted together andprovided with barbs.

7 Having thus described our invention, what we claim is 1. In a deviceof the kind described, a main lever having a claw-shaped end adapted tobe placed against a fence post, said lever having ratchet teeth alongits lower edge; a dog pivoted near the claw end of thelever at theupward side thereof, and arranged to engage the fence post at an inclineto the lever, a yoke slidable on the lever and adapted to engage theteeth thereof and having a neck with horns on it, a fiat nember havingthree apertures, one of which is placed-on said neck, and rods attachedin each of the remaining apertures, each rod having at its free end aprimary hook and adjacent thereto a secondary hook with a sharp grip, achain adapted to be gripped by one of said secondary hooks and having atone end a hook bar adapted to bear against a fence post and engage afence wire having connection with one of the horns for purpose ofstretching the wire.

2. The structure specified in claim 1, said hook bar having serrationsupon the side dcsigned to contact with the fence post during theoperation of the device.

3. The structure specified in claim 1, said primary hooks havingadjacent auxiliary catches for holding wire which for purpose ofstretching it may be engaged by one or both of said hooks of the rod.

4. The structure specified in claim 1, said hook-bar and chain beingtransferable and designed for operation alternately at each side of afence post, according as the wire to be stretched may be located.

5. The structure specified in claim 1, and an auxiliary cam-clamp forgripping extra short. fence wires, said clamp having an eye adapted tobe engaged either by one of the horns of the yoke or by the primary hookof either one of the hook rods.

In testimony whereof we ailix our signatures.

EMIL SAHLER. J. W. HOLT.

